Daniel Ddiba

Daniel Ddiba

Environmental engineer researching strategies for sustainable development in urban contexts

Blog posts

2024

New article at SIANI on turning wastewater into a resource and how this contributes to food security and climate action

less than 1 minute read

Published:

I recently wrote a blog post that has now been published on the website of the Swedish International Agriculture Network Initiative (SIANI). In the article, I explore how regions like Murcia, Spain, are addressing water scarcity and bolstering food security by reusing treated wastewater for agriculture. This practice not only sustains agricultural production but also contributes to climate mitigation and adaptation by recycling valuable nutrients and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Emphasizing the need for innovative solutions in wastewater management, the article calls for greater engagement, efficient resource recovery, and strategic financing to overcome existing challenges to scaling up resource recovery from wastewater.

2023

Knowledge mingle on plastic waste management at Kulturhuset

2 minute read

Published:

On Monday October 9, 2023, I had the opportunity to participate in a knowledge mingle event on plastic pollution and poverty alleviation, organized by Hand in Hand Sweden and Håll Sverige Rent at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern in Stockholm. The event aimed to raise awareness and foster dialogue on how plastic pollution and poverty are interrelated, and how we can work together to improve the situation for both the planet and the people.

Climate-resilient sanitation: three takeaways from World Water Week 2023

7 minute read

Published:

World Water Week 2023 underscored the urgent need for climate-resilient sanitation amid escalating climate change impacts. Despite growing awareness, challenges remain in understanding cause-effect relationships and securing adequate funding for sustainable sanitation systems.

Resource recovery in sanitation planning: What can decision support tools do for you?

1 minute read

Published:

Our paper “A review of how decision support tools address resource recovery in sanitation systems” has just been published, the result of a collaborative effort with colleagues Kim Andersson, Sarah Dickin, Elisabeth Ekener and Göran Finnveden. In this paper, we review 24 decision support software tools used for sanitation planning, and provide insights into how they address resource recovery across the sanitation service chain with regards to analysis of material flows, integrating resource recovery technologies and products in the design of sanitation systems, and assessing the sustainability implications of resource recovery.

Resources on the circular economy, energy and food

5 minute read

Published:

On this page, I provide a list of relevant resources related to circular economy, energy and food. The resources are provided as a reference for interested participants in circular economy related events at the Gothenburg International Science Festival 2023. You can use the links/URLs to access each resource.

2021

Exploring the circular economy potential of Naivasha’s organic waste

6 minute read

Published:

Every day, Kenyan urban areas generate solid waste at the rate of 0.31 to 0.75 kg per person per day. Less than half of that waste is collected and only about 8% of it is recycled. The rest ends up in landfills and dump sites leading to pollution, adverse health impacts and degradation of the ecosystem.

2019

The Kenya Sanitation Conference showed we know what to do – now it’s time to do it

6 minute read

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The event proved sanitation discourse in Kenya has made great strides towards inclusiveness, realism and sustainability. Hopefully, we’ll see these values reflected in action. Kenya pays dearly for the gaps in its sanitation and hygiene services: total economic costs have been estimated at US$ 324 million annually. About 12.5% of Kenyans still practise open defecation and most of the population don’t have access to safely managed sanitation services, according to the latest report of WHO and UNICEF’s Joint Monitoring Program.

2018

How to write a motivational letter

11 minute read

Published:

I am enthusiastic about higher education and its potential to not only enable people achieve their dreams, but also to contribute to the economy through the development of human capital. Therefore, I have always been glad to help people go about the procedures of applications and admissions to university education. This being a peak season for many universities’ admissions cycles, several colleagues have contacted me over the past month or so to help them, mostly to review and critique their motivational statement/letters. The more people I worked with, the more I thought about writing a general guide to help perhaps even more people go about the process of crafting a motivational statement that best presents their personality and hopefully helps them stand out from the huge crowd of applicants.